Zahra (Zara) Mohammadi, a civil activist and a member of the Nojin Association, was sentenced to 10 years in prison By Hossein Saeedi, Head of the First Branch of the Revolutionary Court of Sanandaj on charges of “forming a group to undermine national security.” The verdict was communicated to her lawyer, Javanmard Abdullahi. The trial of this Kurdish citizen was held in late February 2020.
According to the Campaign for Defense of Political and Civil Prisoners, on Monday, July 13th, 2020, the 10 years prison sentence for Zahra (Zara) Mohammadi, a civil activist and a member of the Nojin Association, was communicated to her lawyer, Javanmard Abdullahi.
Zahra (Zara) Mohammadi, a 29-year-old Kurdish language teacher, was arrested along with two other members of the Nojin Association, Idris Manbari and Rebvar Manbari, at her father’s house in Sanandaj, during a lunch by security forces “with physical violence” and transferred to the Sanandaj Intelligence Detention Center for interrogation on May 2020.
On Monday, December 2nd, 2019, after about six months of detention, this civil activist was temporarily released from prison on 700 million Tomans bail.
Maryam (Maya) Mohammadi had told the campaign about the latest situation of her sister Zahra Mohammadi’s case: “In the second branch of the Sanandaj Prosecutor’s Office, Zahra was charged with propaganda against the regime and 700 million Tomans bail was issued for the temporary release of my sister. However, after referring the case to the First Branch of the Revolutionary Court of Sanandaj, presided over by Judge Hossein Saeedi, due to a defect in the case, her case was referred to the Second Branch of the Sanandaj Court and Zahra was communicated for two other charges.”
It should be noted that at the beginning of Ms. Mohammadi’s detention and at the same time as the release of Idris Manbari and Rebvar Manbari, a bail of 500 million Tomans was issued for her release by the Second Branch of the Sanandaj Revolutionary Court, but due to pressure from security agencies Shah Goldi refused to receive bail and turned it into a temporary detention.
Two other members of the “Nojin” socio-cultural association, Idris Manbari and Rebvar Manbari, who were similarly detained at their home by security forces in Sanandaj at the same time as Ms. Mohammadi were arrested, were temporarily released on bai on May 26th, 2019.
Amnesty International had earlier issued a statement calling for the release of this civil activist.
The Council of Non-Governmental Organizations of Kurdistan also issued a statement calling for Ms. Mohammadi’s unconditional release.
Ms. Mohammadi, Master of Geopolitics from Birjand University, became a member of the Nojin Association in 2011 and has been a member of the board of directors of this Socio-Cultural Association. The association has been conducting continuous civic and cultural activities in Kurdish areas of Iran, such as environmental protection. It has created culture in the field of environment, promoted Kurdish culture and held free educational classes to teach literature, Kurdish calligraphy, as well as controlling fires in the forests and pastures of these areas.